Tower Hamlets Council has approved its new pay policy statement for the financial year 2026/27, detailing the remuneration for its directly employed workforce. The policy, which sets out the council's approach to pay for Chief Officers, the lowest paid employees, and the relationship between senior and other staff pay, was approved at a recent council meeting. The full Pay Policy Statement for 2026-27 can be found here.
Key aspects of the policy include updated pay ratios and a revised approach to the re-employment of former employees who have received redundancy payments. The statement outlines a highest paid employee to median salary ratio of 1:5.13 for the non-schools workforce, and a highest paid employee to lowest salary ratio of 1:9.41. This latter ratio represents an increase from 1:7.24 in the previous year. The council states it will review these ratios to balance rewarding senior knowledge, skills, and experience with its commitment to paying the London Living Wage and encouraging developmental progression for lower-graded roles.
A break of one month of service will now be required before former employees who received compulsory redundancy payments can return to the council in a directly employed, agency worker, or consultant capacity. This revised period of tenure aligns with the policies of a number of other councils. For employees taking voluntary severance, the return period remains at two years.
Elected members are now also eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme in line with standard LGPS rules, following government guidance. This eligibility does not extend to Co-opted Members, Independent Persons, or other members of the council's boards and committees. The scheme is contributory, with employee contributions determined by whole-time salary and set by the government. The Dependent Carers' Allowance will increase to £14.80 per hour, in line with the London Living Wage.
The council's pay and grading structure is largely determined by national agreements, with roles evaluated using a job evaluation scheme. This scheme ensures fairness and consistency by evaluating roles up to Grade O under the Greater London Provincial Council (GLPC) job evaluation scheme, Grade P under a local variation to the GLPC scheme, and above Grade P using independent benchmarking data for comparator organisations. The council also implemented a Single Status agreement in April 2008 with trade unions, which aimed to eliminate potential pay inequality from previous pay structures and ensure new pay structures are free from discrimination. New and changed jobs are evaluated using the relevant scheme, with the grade determined by a range of factors. The policy reiterates the council's commitment to the London Living Wage for its lowest paid employees and aims to balance appropriate reward for senior roles with developmental progression for those in lower-graded positions.
Severance payments will be made in accordance with the redundancy policy and are subject to any payment restrictions regarding Public Sector Exit payments. The council does not currently operate a performance-related pay scheme or bonus scheme.
For more information on council meetings and reports, please refer to the Agenda frontsheet and the Public reports pack for the meeting on 25th March 2026.
